In bright sunshine at 10 a.m. this morning it was hard to believe that the meteorologists had threatened us with 48 hours of gale force winds from 11 a.m. onwards. Nevertheless forecasts are now much more accurate than they were in our youth, so we battened down the hatches. Thousands of items of garden furniture and millions of hanging baskets – or so it seemed – needed to be brought down to ground level.
First, the patio furniture was lowered. the two teapots in the bottom left corner are for Nugget’s consideration as a prospective new home.
The hanging baskets required careful handling to prevent causing damage before the gales were given the chance to wreak havoc. Chequerboard fuchsia hanging from the arch over the dead end path is shown in the two pictures before those in which Jackie delicately replaces potted petunias. Having stretched a long arm from its pot it had required tying up. I needed to undo this.
All this activity naturally aroused Nugget’s curiosity. At first he hopped about from the rocks to the gravel,
then took up a position on the back of the white chair in the Weeping Birch Bed. The usual magnification from the galleries will show him clearly tweeting “what’s going on?”.
The Head Gardener found room for what she called “the lucky few” in the greenhouse.
This afternoon we took a coastal trip to see what was going on there.
At Milford on Sea a young girl sheltered along the sea wall in an effort to avoid the violence of the waves and the spray. Kite surfers could be seen in the distance near Hurst lighthouse.
Further along, at Barton on Sea, hardy groups clambered on the rocks.
The Isle of wight seemed shrouded in spray.
At Mudeford black headed gulls bobbed buoyant as corks on the surging waves. Although two skilled sailboarders sped along the surface,
another less proficient pair spent much of their time attempting to lodge and right their sail. No sooner had they seemed upright than they were back beneath the surface. I had to admire their persistence.
This evening we dined on crispy duck, spring onions, cucumber, and plum sauce in pancakes; followed by spare ribs in barbecue sauce; with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Saint-Chinian.
Poor old Nugget, so many human vagaries to understand…….. He might like to be put into the glass house too. Is it with you now I wonder – the sea foretells a good storm is on it’s way! We are lurking impatiently inside, waiting for the rain to cease so we can venture out on our first decent walk for a week. I don’t know why I’m reluctant to get wet – there are plenty of towels in the cupboard!
Perhaps it is still cold and wet down there. At least our winds are warm – will continue to rage until midnight tonight, we are told. Thanks very much, Pauline
Wow!
Thanks very much, Viv
You are welcome 🙏
Was all the work needed in the end? We had some very gusty winds but they didn’t last long.
Certainly was needed – and we didn’t do enough. Continuing until midnight tonight. Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal
We got the rain today.
Hope the winds didn’t wreak too much damage on your beautiful garden. It looked pretty rough out at sea.
We have yet to see the extent – still raging, Sheree. Many thanks
It’s been an off day. Garden furniture relocating in the wind. Stunning photos
Thanks very much, Gary
Oh my. That is even more work than my gardener has to do when a storm is coming. Did your storm ever arrive?
It has been raging since yesterday and not due to subside until midnight tonight, Luanne. Thanks very much
Oh my goodness. Please send some rain here. Our monsoon season forgot us this year!!!
Thanks very much, Luanne. In fact there hasn’t been much rain with our winds.
Oh, that is the worst thing around here–the dust storms (wind storms but we have dust haha) with or without rain.
Thanks very much, Luanne.
I hope those winds calm down
By midnight tonight they should reduce, More. Thank you very much
Oh I hope so
Have a good day
My word — that’s necessary preparation, but a chore nonetheless. I hope no damage was done, and that there weren’t too many sore muscles after all that lifting and moving.
Thanks very much, Linda. Muscles OK but winds still raging – there is some damage but we haven’t investigated too far.
Fabulous photos! Every single one.
Thanks very much, Leslie
Be safe! Hope the storm passes you by.
Thanks a lot, Laurie. It is passing right through us.
Hope your plants survive the storm with little damage.
Many thanks, Rosaliene
Gale force winds here for past two days coursing havoc everywhere.
Keep the windy weather to yourself. 😉
🙂 We only lent it to you, Chrissy. Thanks very much
😂
Thank goodness.
The oncoming gales are certainly causing lots of activity everywhere Derrick
Thank you very much, Ivor
Oh gosh, I’m sorry the storm caused so much damage. No doubt, Jackie will be working some overtime in the garden. I’m happy Nugget weathered the winds. I can’t imagine going out to sailboard with those winds.
Thanks very much, Jill
The sea does look like it’s ready to do battle. Your pictures remind me of my sailing days and especially when we had to prepare for hurricanes. Hope your weather is improving.
Thanks very much, Barbara. We are due to have another 24 hours of it
You have such a beautiful garden. I really hope storm didn’t cause much harm. So much hard work to save your precious things. I really wish weather has calmed down.
Thank you very much, Dee
Storm should have passed by now Derrick, hope the damage was minimal due to your precautions.
Storm still with us for another day, Ian. Haven’t fully investigated damage yet. Cheers
Nothing to report in the Midlands either, except some electrical interference with the satellite TV. Today, Saturday, is a little gusty but nothing special.
May it stay that way, John. Thanks very much
Oh, no! How scary! 🙁
Hope you all are safe and hope your garden is safe, too!
Hope the winds and weather calm down!
(((HUGS)))
Continuing until midnight tonight, Carolyn. Thanks very much
Praying little Nugget has found a safe haven to ‘weather the storm’ ?
Hoping for minimal damage to your garden and things soon return to their normally wonderful condition.
Was that a teapot shaped like a watering can in the first photo?? 🙂
Thanks very much, Bob. We share your prayers and hopes. Yes it is a watering can. Probably the hole is too big
I forgot to mention before… your long distance shots of Nugget made me think you might start a regular “Where’s Nugget?” section in your posts. A single wide shot of the garden and we have to see if we can find him!
Any good?? 🙂
A very good idea, Bob. Thanks a lot.
I love dramatic weather. We have had some huge thunderstorms of late. I saw a bolt strike the Freedom Tower in Manhattan. The rain was unbelievable. Flash flood levels. I hope the garden survived intact.
Thanks a lot, Sherry. There is damage – storm continuing until midnight today. Report will follow when it is all over
That is war of the elements against the elements. Jackie seems to have readied her ship from the keel to sail. That is a sea awaiting to go wild. Please take care of the Nugget.
Nugget has kept out of sight this morning. I was being carried along with the continuing storms, so who could blame him? Many thanks, Uma
Are you still experiencing the winds? I certainly hope your little Nugget will last against the forces of Nature!
We are. Another day of them. Nugget is lying low – but then we haven’t been out much. Thanks very much, GP
I get to see the beauty of your garden through your wonderful photos. It is easy for me to forget how much work is put into bringing us such delights. Keep safe my friend.
Thank you very much, Jerry
Today has been worse, if anything.
We have lost a stone urn.. snapped from its plinth.. and numerous tree branches.
Keep safe, both.
And you – and keep battling, Jessica. Thanks very much
Like others, I wondered about the storms, but I see from comments above that they did come and may still be going on. I hope there’s not much damage to your garden, and I hope even more that Nugget is OK.
Obviously we are concerned about Nugget, Hopefully he will emerge when it’s all over. Many thanks, Merril
Sorry to see some damage to your beautiful garden! They’ll recover soon though.
That’s what I keep telling the Head Gardener. Thank very much, Byung
Hoping the storm will not be as dire as predicted, and that all, including little Nugget, will be safe.
Thanks very much, Lavinia. As you now know it was fierce. Tweet from Nugget
That wind storm will be remembered. I hope in didn’t break any thing in the house. 🙂
The house is fine, Micheline. Thanks very much
Around the world, we all seem to be buffeted from one ‘extreme’ weather event to another. May all be well in the wake of yours.
Thanks very much, Widders. We will start the clear up today
Hope the garden survived the storms. We continue to have heavy rain and have had thunder storms for a couple of days. The Friday night storm brought down my broadband. BT are sending an engineer, and in the meantime, I’ve connected to the daughter’s broadband next door.
Thanks very much, Sue. I hope you have your broadband back by now
BT sending an emergency hub but the engineer unavailable until Thursday. The CCTV and the video doorbell are wired to my broadband so not working either, but I’m lucky, I can connect my computer and phone etc via Victoria’s broadband. Thank you Derrick.
Did your garden survive the storm?
Much better than expected, Helen. Many thanks
That’s good to hear
Sensible precautions, Derrick. Not nearly so bad here in Surrey as forecast.
Thanks a lot Roland. I’m pleased for you
The head gardener seems hard at work. Good of Nugget to keep her company.
Thank you very much, LL/PS 🙂
Will you take the lid off the teapots after awhile so Nugget can look at all sides?
Even though I was a weather forecaster a long time ago, my career was 15 years long and I still feel loyal to weather forecasters. I was tickled to hear that you two had faith in the prediction, even when the day dawned lovely. It’s a tough job and all the people I worked with tried really hard to get it right.
It is now remarkably accurate her, Crystal. The teapots will be hung, sans lids, from trees so he gets a few months to get used to them before next spring